Australia Jobs growth hit two years high in November

Australia Jobs growth hit two years high in November

A further 61,600 jobs were added in November, but an increase in the number of people looking for work kept the unemployment rate steady at 5.4 percent.

The economy added far more jobs than expected in November, underlining the strength of the labour market that has grown by 383,000 positions in the past twelve months.

The total number of jobs rose by 61,600 in November, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, the biggest increase in more than two years and far higher than the 19,000 improvement the market had expected.

However, a rise in the participation rate, which indicates the number of people either employed or actively looking for work, with 65.5 percent kept the unemployment rate steady at 5.4 percent.

Full-time employment again accounted for the bulk of the job growth, rising by 41,900 positions.

The number of part-time jobs rose 19,700.

The Australian dollar was boosted by the news, hitting a one month high of 76.75 US cents, from its level of 76.29 US cents ahead of the release of the data.